In the 2021-22 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors had the rare opportunity to have three All Stars, a sign that once again, the team was back to its dominant ways. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry, forward Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins got the nomination — with Wiggins gaining his first ever All Star selection as a starter with the help of Korean pop star Bam Bam. 

With All-Star voting closed and team captains to be announced on Jan. 26, DubNation stood out strong and five Warriors were voted in by the fans in the final round of voting. The usual suspects of Curry, Green, Wiggins and guard Klay Thompson were there, but a surprise stood out. 

Warriors center Kevon Looney was No. 9 in front-court voting with 692,095 votes. Looney — who usually does his work quietly — has built a fanbase this past season as more fans are appreciating his value that he brings to the table. 

With Looney, it’s more than the stats. It’s his smarts, his dirty work and durability that gives him playing time. Looney is also the perfect conduit in the Warriors timetable — not old enough to be considered a veteran and as young as the future, but been around the Warriors dynasty and know the system like the back of his hands. 

Looney has improved drastically from his rookie season — from barely being able to catch Curry’s wizardr-esque passes to now having a major impact in the game with his screening, pick and roll reads and rebounding. Looney has solid stats this season — averaging 6.7 points and a career-high 8.7 rebounds. Looney has also had some standout games this season — grabbing 20 rebounds and a game winner versus the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 2. Though it’s great seeing Looney’s appreciation, the West is heavily studded in the front-court and it’s unlikely the coaches would vote him in this season. 

As for Wiggins, the former No. 1 overall pick produced another solid season thus far. Averaging a little over 17.5 points, Wiggins continued to build from his strong Finals performance up until his injury. He’s been slowly returning to form, but given how deep the Western Conference is with forwards and the amount of games Wiggins missed, it’s doubtful that Wiggins would make the All Star team this year, with or without the help of another Korean pop star. 

Thompson and Green both have had interesting seasons. Thompson is still recovering from his Achilles injury, and the team decided that he would not be playing in back-to-backs. Thompson started the season cold but caught fire after his 41 point performance versus the Houston Rockets on Nov. 11. However, Thompson’s inconsistent shooting and shot-selection plagued him thus far, and the five-time all star is still trying to gain his rhythm. 

And with Green, the polarizing forward has seen a decline in the defensive end and his lack of an offensive game has been exposed more so this season than previous ones. Usually, Green would be playing exceptionally during a contract season, but because of the off-the-court drama and aging, Green hasn’t been the same this season. 

That leaves only Curry — who will probably start based on his popularity alone. Before his shoulder injury, Curry was having another MVP-like season. Curry was having one of the most efficient scoring seasons — averaging a near 30 points per game while having a true shooting percentage of 70% in early November, according to NBC Sports Edge. Curry was also shooting on 50/50/90 shooting splits and was carrying the Warriors to wins while the team figured out rotations. 

At age 34, Curry has proven time and time again that he has the ability to carry a team to wins and still produce crazy numbers despite his aging. He was in the MVP conversation prior to his shoulder injury, but now, as he looks to get back into rhythm, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be an All Star starter again. 

It’ll be interesting to see how the Western Conference All Star starters pan out — given the injuries and whatnot. As for the Warriors, it seems as if Curry would be the lone All Star this season, but coaches would be able to vote in players, so it really would be unpredictable.

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